Congress party should consider a new face as its leader after two consecutive Lok Sabha election losses, Sharmistha Mukherjee, daughter of former President Pranab Mukherjee, said months before polls.
The Congress won 52 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, while it got 44 seats in the 2014 polls. Both times, Rahul Gandhi was projected as the party’s face
“If a party is losing continuously under the leadership of a particular leader, then it is important for he party to think about it. Congress should think about who should be the face of the party,” Mukherjee said speaking to ANI on Monday.
“Congress needs to take care of this thing that, in 2014 and 2019, Rahul Gandhi lost in a very bad manner, he was the face of Congress. Two Lok Sabha elections happened,” she pointed out.
She further added that the time has come for the party to look outside the Nehru-Gandhi family for its leadership.
Speaking to PTI, she said, “It is not my job to define Rahul Gandhi. It is not possible to define any individual.”
“But as a Congress supporter and a responsible citizen, I am worried about the party. And certainly the time has come to look outside the Nehru-Gandhi family for leadership,” Sharmistha Mukherjee said.
“The Congress is still the main opposition party. Its place is undisputed. But how to strengthen this presence? This is the question. It is the job of party leaders to consider this,”
She further adds, “The Congress should introspect whether it is truly upholding its ideology forward today. Are pluralism, secularism, tolerance, inclusivity, freedom of expression, which have been at the core of Congress, being followed in practice?
No party should be synonymous with the country: Mukherjee on INDI alliance
On INDIA bloc, she said, “When it was formed, I had posted on X that if it fails, what will be the headlines? ‘INDIA Breaks’. No political party should be synonymous with the country. This thought came to my mind,” she said.
On the issue of leadership in the INDIA grouping, she said, “As far as leadership is concerned, there are many senior leaders in the alliance…they should sort it out themselves. But they need to resolve the issues like seat sharing, etc. I cannot answer whether this alliance will survive till the general elections.”
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Published: 07 Feb 2024, 07:59 AM IST